S1733, the Royal Danish West
India and Guinea Company pur-
chased St Coin from Piance
What was the reaso bhid the
purchase of S Coix? I can sure
you, her was no gold on the island
to bring Denmark to the Virgin
Lands.
In fact. the Indian, Spanish,
Dutch English and Prench had
already habited the island. In the
1600s, tobacco and sair planta-
tions were set up to support the
colony. Slaves from Afdica were
aelo imporsd to wor with French
"boodms" in the tobacco and s.g-
arcanefied
Thee agricultural crops were
exported to France. During this
time, Ihe French plaotaioo on St
Croix began to da rioralc sad the
natural succession of the forest
began to reclaim the cultivated
fields. The Pheach abandoned the

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islndin d1
At this time, cololsts from the
Birish Virgin Islands found lCoi
stands of dmber an SL Qoix aoae-

L the tc Bitis. tI Danes were
lsrancd toSi. ix by the fort.
There were an abundance of
large ureM s d for comisoctico of
everything from houes, to ships
and mchinery for sugar prodec-
lion,
o open ld of SL Croi was
covered with forest to the south
pFids; the mounains to the north

Environment

were covered with a dense rain for-
est Wilh this uninlteepted grow
of hardwood forest, the Danish
West India and Guinea Company
approached the French and con-
vinced them to sell SL Croix.
While sugarcane production
became the majoi economy of the
new Danish colony, St. Croix's
forests were the initial economic
drive.
In a note dated 1739, Rcimetl
Haageuseu slated, "Te nmonot of
valuable timber and me trees tha
were destroyed by fire and by the
as whhen th Dnes initially tarted
to develop the island is unbecllv-
able. At dtal times, therewasgreat
deal of frestnd little lse."
Thisdesciption of St. Croix for
est ecvlronsent enables us to
understand bow the ecology of tbe
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